More, More, More at Naeem Khan

No one does over-the-top glam like ApparelMagic client Naeem Khan, and this season at New York Fashion Week, he did not disappoint.

Embracing a whole world of cultures, Khan flipped between kimono-style wrap tops, ponchos with heavy embroidery, and bohemian-style sequins. When the world has so many treasures, he asks, why be confined to any one style? Khan’s propositions are truly a melting pot.

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With a nod to the growing athletic-wear and athleisure markets, Khan bookended his show with a few tracksuits elevated to the nth degree. Look one, a full-on paisley fantasia dripping with sequins from head to toe. Following that, a more restrained version, this time in white and trimmed in bold black lace. And his final look? A chic black velvet tracksuit with a maribou feather trim along the hood and tearaway pants falling open, reading as up-to-there slits. A perfect synthesis of evening elegance and pure fashion fun.

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Nicole Miller’s girls are a little bit punk, a little bit rock and roll

ApparelMagic client Nicole Miller keeps her finger on the pulse of the fashion. Hitting all the trends out of the ballpark at her New York Fashion Week show this week, she imbued her vision of the Nicole Miller girl with a hint of borrowed-from-the-boys style.

Her signature cool girls this season walked the runway with a more punkish vibe than usual. Wearing layered leathers, plaids, and sweats, these girls took these menswear standards and recombined them in nonchalantly with classic dresses and skirts.

Patches, a huge trend already making its way over from Europe, were well represented in Miller’s line, with stars and crests and text piled onto velour hoodies, leather jackets, and even eveningwear.

Florals, too, got an upgrade. Mixing multiple grungy flower prints together on the same dresses, she made the girly staple androgynous and edgy. Camo even got in the act when it was overprinted in metallic blossoms.

At New York Fashion Week, Eckhaus Latta puts out its most mature show yet

Just as the fashion world is getting comfortable calling Eckhaus Latta the hot young thing, designers Zoe Latta and Mike Eckhaus showed they are capable of dressing not just über cool clubbers but now arty intelligentsia too.

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This season’s big ticket at New York Fashion Week, the ApparelMagic client showed in a huge industrial space deep in Brooklyn. Beginning their runway show with a cycle of professional wear in creamy eggshells and greys, it was clear this show would be the pair’s most successful foray into the big leagues.

A twenty first century Jackie O suit rendered in thick, color-blocked knitwear, was paired with sheer gloves and worn with just the right amount of irony.

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Another knitted pattern, this time in grey and orange, appeared on a male model in the form of a crew neck sweater in one look, and later showed up sewn as a cocktail dress on a female plus size model, demonstrating Eckhaus Latta’s inclusive philosophy with ease.

Indeed, in a climate where fashion is figuring out how it fits, Eckhaus Latta is disrupting the status quo and bringing the industry into 2018.

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Sea is reinventing stylish staples

Always centered on the target and hitting the trends at the exact right moment, Sean Monahan and Monica Paolini’s brand Sea constantly puts out the kind of clothes that ahead-of-the-curve women want.

Never fussy or attention-hogging, the ApparelMagic client’s prefall collection stood out for the very items that made it blend it: classic styles with of-the-moment updates.

Sticking with a nipped waist and accentuating it with flared skirts and voluminous sleeves, the proportions were as sophisticated as they were flattering.

Balloon-leg pants were cropped at the ankle and hung off a wide waistband. A striped blouse turned professional dressing on its head with its leg o’ mutton sleeves.

Other looks were decorated with folk motifs, like a navy prairie dress banded with ribbons of trims. Worn open at the neck and with a pair of sandals, the look was less pioneer woman and more Greek-isle honeymooner.

The Sea girl, though, is no stranger to a bit of fun, and with pom poms and ruffles on lace tops with billowy sleeves and statement shoulders, she definitely got it.

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New Year’s dressing made deluxe by Sachin & Babi

ApparelMagic client Sachin & Babi went on a darkly elegant outing for their prefall collection. Their many fans are set to be full on Gatsby girls with chic black head wraps and earrings that dangled nearly to the shoulders.

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For the before-dinner hours, A few dresses covered in Florida-style flora were prim and proper, but still unquestionably glam.

With hints of the twenties, some modest but glamorous tea-length dresses were fringed in swaying metallic fringe.

More sober looks still held their own in the sparkle department, like a black and white dress with elegant teardrop bead trims, or all black looks with rhinestones in a delicate honeycomb pattern.

Other eveningwear included stunners like a bell-sleeved magenta gown and an electric blue one with a statement-sized bow. The Sachin & Babi woman is always in the spotlight, and these are the dresses that keep her there.

Public School knows what’s cool

Public School designers Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne have their fingers on the pulse of culture. For these two, it’s not just about clothes. Public School, an ApparelMagic client, is their laboratory for testing advanced fashion and sharing it with the world. This season, that meant midriffs, sheer outerwear, and harnesses everywhere.

Starting with the first look down the runway, an oversize plaid shirt with one side covered over with convenience store plastic bag prints like “Come Again” and safety disclaimers, you could tell this was another of their bids to combine scene-stealing fashion with a political message. The designers combined the fabrics (denim, nylon, and cotton jersey) of utilitarian workwear with the shapes (baggy pants, hoodies, and crop tops) of streetwear and came up with everything great about fashion today.

Heavy on the proletariat vibes, even Public School’s latest collaboration, seen in the collection’s blinding white activewear, was with Air Jordan, much more accessible than the European luxury brands some of their peers have teamed up with. That’s not to say that anything was lacking on the glamorous side of things, however. You can find in the collection a leather corset belt and a green ruffled cocktail dress, but in true Public School fashion, they were styled with a denim Canadian tuxedo and a sweatshirt, respectively.

ApparelMagic Client Jonathan Simkhai shows a springtime daydream

After winning the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund in 2015, great things have been expected for New York-based designer and ApparelMagic client Jonathan Simkhai. As his spring 2018 collection shown during fashion week proves, he’s now in the big leagues, able to represent American fashion on the international stage.

In an almost wholly indigo and cream show, Simkhai’s capable hands worked breezy sportswear staples into of-the-moment shapes.

Striped shirting is having a moment, of course, and here it was pulled away from its business suit origins and into a realm of fantasy. Poplin shirts were knotted into handkerchief-hem dresses and separates with curly lace trims that could have been tatted by small forest fauna for a fairytale heroine.

Continuing this theme, innocent white gowns in eyelet lace were casually cinched in with a swath of sandy suede or leather.

The collection wasn’t just for storybook princesses, however. California dream girls also got a powerful shout out in the form of crochet dresses with sexy cutouts and glimpses of skin underneath the open-work designs, all perfect for a sunset walk on Venice Beach.

Moving past sundown, Simkhai had visions of ethereal chiffon nightgowns edged in lace and a dose of old Hollywood glamour. Day to night, Jonathan Simkhai’s spring line is a dream.

 

Eckhaus Latta’s Underground Art Scene

With New York Fashion Week in a state of flux, the fashion industry has been in need of a jolt of excitement. At ApparelMagic client Eckhaus Latta’s show this season, that is exactly what they got.

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In a raw warehouse deep in Bushwick, Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta’s spring collection was as unsettling and avant garde as always. Hems were uneven. Tops ended abruptly above the belly button or flashed a sliver of skin above mom jeans, and suits were tailored to hang far off the body.

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If any of these items sound like a fashion faux-pas, that’s kind of the point. Eckhaus Latta excels at taking the unfashionable and uncomfortable and giving it a 180 degree spin until it has the downtown chic the label is known for. Everyone wearing Eckhaus Latta looks like an underground artist with an enigmatic personality and a fascinating oeuvre to match.

Their trademark knitwear was in full force here, a cutaway version in vermillion and wide pants rendered in mustard. Ending the show was a series of cloud-like sheer shifts, their ethereal powder-blue color contrasting with workwear pants worn below.

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Adding to the wide variety of clothing on display, the casting was especially idiosyncratic. In a time when diversity is talked about more than ever, the designers recognized that models come in all colors, shapes, sizes, and ages. Their cast proved that minidresses can be worn–and worn well–above size 2 and that any age can wear a crop top.

To encapsulate the whole brand’s aesthetic in one look though, a pregnant model walked down the runway with belly bared and with paint in her hair. Eckhaus Latta’s vision is the future, and in this future we can all be runway stars.

ApparelMagic Client Sachin & Babi takes its followers to Turkey

Sirens of social media take note: wearing any of ApparelMagic client Sachin & Babi’s spring collection will make your next vacation’s content go viral.

Taking a turn from the ballroom to the beach, the spring collection takes resort-style staples and glams them up for evening. Designers Sachin and Babi Ahluwalia gave their clothes the influencer treatment, in the best way possible.

 

Statement accessories? Turkish hammam tassels hung off the hem of many looks, and long earring versions in bright red are all you need for an on-trend selfie.

Vivid colors? Sachin & Babi rendered their chic eveningwear in icy blue chiffon, marigold yellow satin, and millennial pink taffeta. These screen-friendly blocks of bright color are perfect for any jet-setter on holiday.

Dramatic volumes? Never fearing a ballgown silhouette, the designers featured high-low dresses and trapeze-shaped beach cover-ups any social media scroller would double tap.

 

Iconic graphics? T-shirts embellished with a bold set of red lips make the airplane seat selfie fun when there’s not enough elbow room for one of Sachin & Babi’s diaphanous gowns.

All that’s left is for Instagram influencers to hop on a plane and wear these picture-perfect dresses on terraces overlooking the Mediterranean.

Liya Kebede’s lemlem gives back

Liya Kebede is one of the world’s most in-demand supermodels, walking on red carpets in New York and runways in Paris and representing brands like Estée Lauder, Louis Vuitton, and Gap, but that doesn’t stop this Ethiopian-born beauty from giving back. Kebede, a Glamour magazine Woman of the Year and one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, isn’t just a Vogue covergirl: she’s a force for change in the world, starting with her roots in Africa.

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lemlem, Her line of clothing and homewares launched a decade ago, gives jobs to weavers and traditional craftspeople, many of whom are women, and is proudly made in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Madagascar. This is no vanity project: everything from yarn-spinning to embroidery is done in Africa, and lemlem, an ApparelMagic client, is committed to helping improve these artisans’ quality of life by utilizing their special skills.

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From gauzy caftans handwoven in Kenya to tank tops embroidered in Rwanda, lemlem’s clothes don’t just do good, they look good. In addition to its men’s, women’s, and children’s lines, lemlem also creates home textiles and collaborates with Ancient Greek Sandals on footwear.

In addition to the line of clothing, lemlem also benefits the lemlem Foundation, a nonprofit aiming at improving maternal care in Ethiopia. Learn more about the lemlem Foundation here.

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Lena Dunham, Solange, and More Wear ApparelMagic Clients at the Met Gala

The stars of movies, music, TV, and fashion converged last night at the Met Gala in New York City. The red carpet, often deemed the “Fashion Oscars” due to the high-profile celebrities, included a number of them promoting ApparelMagic clients.

The subject of the 2016 documentary The First Monday in May, the Met Gala is an annual fundraiser headed by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.

With this year’s exhibition celebrating designer Rei Kawakubo’s visionary body of work, the typically white-tie dress code directed these VIPs to go out of their comfort zone with avant-garde looks.

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Just weeks after the end of her groundbreaking HBO series Girls, Lena Dunham was back in the spotlight in a ballgown by ApparelMagic client Elizabeth Kennedy. Worn with her trademark irreverence, the off-the-shoulder number referenced motifs running through the Met’s exhibition: namely, the tartans and plaids Kawakubo is drawn back to again and again and her lifelong affinity with assymmetry. Topping the Elizabeth Kennedy gown off with a messy bun and casual bangs, Dunham found the perfect balance between her elegant eveningwear and her fun-loving demeanor.

Jenni Konner, a director, writer, and producer on HBO’s Girls, twinned with her partner in crime in a merlot column dress, also by ApparelMagic client Elizabeth Kennedy. With huge bell sleeves cinched with black straps, Konner’s dress was a punky take on formalwear. Elizabeth Kennedy, an emerging designer brand, is quickly becoming the modern woman’s one-stop shop for dramatic but unfussy evening dresses.

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Solange Knowles is topping not just the charts, but now even topping Vogue’s Best Dressed List. In a cold-weather tuxedo by ApparelMagic client Thom Browne from his Fall 2017 show, Solange showed that her sister Beyonce is not the only force to be reckoned with in both music and fashion. The Thom Browne ensemble, a down-filled puffer overcoat with a long train, cemented the Cranes in the Sky singer’s status as a tastemaker.

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With the front page news in the theatre world of her new award earlier this week, Cynthia Erivo is a rising star. The Grammy, Tony, and now Emmy winner chose ApparelMagic client Thom Browne for this occasion for a surreal ballgown-style assemblage of deconstructed tailoring. Walking up the Met’s grand stair like a 2017 Marie Antoinette, her hair was styled in the Louis XVI pouf style paired with a dress substituting panniers for white brocade blazers.

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Superstar rapper Wiz Khalifa isn’t the first person you’d expect to see in white tie and tales, but at a gala exhibiting an iconoclastic designer, the combination seems especially opportune. The graphic tailcoat and waistcoat offer the perfect contrast to his many, many tattoos and over the top jewelry. With a pair of low key sunglasses to shield his eyes from a blinged out watch, Khalifa is this century’s perfect gentleman in his Thom Browne finery.

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DJ and music producer Diplo took some time off the top 40 to take in the sights at the Costume Institute in a suit by ApparelMagic client Thom Browne. Trimmed in black grosgrain and hemmed into the designer’s signature cropped silhouette, the suit made the Grammy winner into every bit the heartthrob.

Rebels with a cause at Public School

America, the beautiful. Public School’s Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne put out a collection this season at New York Fashion Week dedicated to their country from sea to shining sea. Or maybe more accurately, From Manhattan city street to great plains field to Los Angeles basketball court. Indeed, with models wearing clever red caps proclaiming “Make America New York” and fuzzy white moccasins, you knew this wasn’t a standard star-spangled version of the United States.

Looking to bring together the red and the blue—literally, in the case of some patriotic paisleys, and geopolitically, with urban streetwear and farmers’ plaids—Public School found a bipartisan approach with the most chic denim on denim looks for some and deconstructed suiting with open shoulders for others. This was anything, though, but a compromise.

Somewhere between a hoodie screen printed with a close up of Michael Jordan’s face and a mean set of cranberry colored jackets, you could tell that this folksy-varsity hybrid was exactly what the country needed. Or at least the fashion industry.

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